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Poem of Piri Reis

Good friend, I want you
To remember us in your prayers,
And remember Kemal Reis, our master,
May his soul be content!
He had perfect knowledge of the seas
And knew the science of navigation.
He knew innumerable seas;
No one could stop him…
We sailed the Mediterranean together
And saw all its great cities.
We went to Frankish lands
And defeated the infidel.
One day an order from
Sultan Bayezid arrived.”Tell Kemal Reis to come to me,”
It said, “and advise me on affairs of the sea.”
So in 1495, the year of this command,
We returned to our country.
By the sultan’s command we set out
And won many victories…
Kemal Reis sailed hoping to come back,
But was lost at sea.
Everyone once spoke of him;
Now even his name is forgotten…
The angel of death caught him
While he was serving Sultan Bayezid.
May God give peace to those
Who remember Kemal Reis with a prayer.
Kemal died and went to the next world
And we found ourselves alone in this.